“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius power and magic in it.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I found this quote wonderfully relevant today. I discovered a handful of poetry contests and decided to try my luck at them. Taking action towards a goal is empowering. It feels like a great way to start the new year.

My seven year old wrote this poem, and I just had to share it. She’s in second grade. I especially like her reaction at the end. 😉 I started writing poetry when I was about her age. Reading this made me super-happy.

I saw pumpkins stacked in a pilelistening to spooky songs.I stepped in gooey mud puddlesas I walked along.I stomped through the spooky woods,I got scared and ran awayand that was the end of me!The orange leaves were blowing in the wind.I tripped over a log,I looked up,The vicious mummy was standing right there.The one I heard earlier, you know.Oh I karate chopped himand skipped all the way home.Aaaaaaah, that felt good.

Just as the title indicates, I haven’t had much time to blog lately. The kids are keeping me busy with their antics but I wanted to take a moment to share a few things! I just became the newest member of an artist’s cooperative in Decatur called Homegrown Decatur. It’s a super cool shop and I’m proud to have my wearable art featured there! Also, I’ve been working on a few new paintings and wanted to share!

It appears that I might be on to something here…. I am really enjoying the series of semi-abstract floral paintings that I’ve been working on lately. I love the freedom of the washes (both watered down acrylic and rubbing alcohol delivered a la squirt bottle) that comprise the background, and the more controlled, technical aspect of the flowers themselves. I used a photograph of a bloom and a bud taken at my in-laws lake house here in Georgia. While the hibiscus isn’t my favorite flower (Gerbera daisies win that prize), I have always been drawn to their vibrant colors and the tropical vibe that they represent.

I’m trying to decide what I’ll use for my next subject. Sunflowers are popular and have a lot of character, but I’m not sold on them…. If anyone has any favorites, I’m open!

With summer in full swing, I find myself having less and less time to write. I’ve managed to sneak time here and there between the torrent of requests, “I’m hungries”, “So and so took my such and such”, and all of the other rants from my kids. Even the little one is starting now – she finally figured out that she can get around and investigate the world around her. It’s pretty comical actually – she pulls herself along with her fingers (on all fours) and pushes with her tiptoes simultaneously. I’ve tried to show her that she can get up on her knees and go twice as fast, with half as much effort, but she wants nothing of it. Typical… I will admit that I’m ready for my oldest to head back to school. She’ll be starting kindergarten in August and she seems to be the most needy of all three kids…

So back to the point of this post – my latest painting. I think I’m on to something with the muted, contrasting washed backgrounds and the strong flowers in the foreground. I enjoy doing them and have been pleased with how they turn out. I sold the Fire Poppy painting just last week so I decided to work on this Calla Lily in a similar fashion. Nothing like being able to pay a bill or two! ;o) Hope everyone out there is having a fabulous summer!

Oh, and as an aside, I’m considering doing some of these originals as prints. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to do so? Types of paper, printing process, etc…. I’d love to hear your suggestions.

So I’ve decided to share my most recent work in progress, because I’m really enjoying how it’s turning out. I still have some work to do on this Calla Lily (stamen, etc) but sometimes I think it’s fun just to show you what I’m up to. I appear to be on a flower kick right now and am enjoying using washed backgrounds and bold clear floral elements in the foreground. This particular lily appears to be making an offering of some sort…perhaps an offering of it’s undeniably perfect form…. I received a lot of positive responses on my Fire Poppy painting and have decided to take a stab at some different species to see how they turn out.

This one has several layers of various washes, mixed up with a bit of alcohol here and there to spice things up and create some depth to the background (my new favorite!).

On another note, I just booked tickets to take the family to Connecticut at the end of July. I’m wonderfully excited about this ~ my kids haven’t been to CT in the summer yet, and I can’t wait for them to experience the beaches and summer fun that I knew growing up. I’m sure it will spark all sorts of creative inspiration (and a plethora of hilarious anecdotes which I will then share with you!!). In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging along, eyes open, looking for the next source of inspiration for my work. Cheers!

I just returned from a 4 day long road trip to the Florida panhandle, specifically Panama City Beach. It was my first time traveling down there and the white sand beaches were definitely beautiful and inspiring. Parts of it were a little rough around the edges for this Connecticut Yankee, but all in all it was a good trip (minus the 15 pit-stops each way between there and Atlanta….ah, the joys of traveling with small children!).

In any case, I had finished several paintings before we embarked on that journey, but didn’t have the time to share with all of you! So, here is the first and one that I’m very fond of. I set it up with a wash of various layers and hues (blues, greys, etc) and then played around a little with rubbing alcohol delivered via squirt bottle which I enjoyed. I set up the poppy and was going to leave it solo, but decided that I needed another flower (this one a lily) in the foreground.